A Princess of Mars

At the close of the Civil War, Confederate cavalryman John Carter found himself to be a man without a country -- and so he bid farewell to his native Virginia and headed west in search of gold. While attempting to save his prospecting partner from an Apache attack, Carter seeks refuge in a cave -- a cave with mystical properties as he soon finds himself transported to Mars, otherwise known as Barsoom. The variances in the Martian atmosphere gift Carter with a preternatural speed and strength. Carter's newly-discovered gifts allow him to survive among the Tharks, a nomadic, six-limbed tribe of fierce Martian warriors, winning him the hard-won respect of Tars Tarkas, one of the tribe's premiere chieftains. Carter gives little thought to his long-term future on Mars until the Tharks capture Dejah Thoris, the beloved Princess of Helium, one of the Red -- or humanoid -- Martians centers of power. In a life or death struggle to safeguard Dejah from the warlike Tharks and restore her to her people, Carter falls in love -- and in losing his heart finds a reason to fight for a future on this planet so different from his own. I cannot remember the last time I indulged in the luxury of re-reading a book, so to read A Princess of Mars twice in four months? That's something special indeed. A Princess of Mars is my first experience with early 20th-century classic pulp fiction, and it has proven to be a memorable one indeed. Burroughs's first drafted John Carter's first adventure after a series of failed business ventures. The behind-the-scenes featurette on the recently released film, "100 Years in the Making," posits that John Carter was birthed out of an existential crisis in the author's life -- and taken as such it is fascinating to watch Carter's journey from outsider to Martian hero unfold. A Princess of Mars is in many respects the first space western, with the arid Martian climate standing in for the American west. If Mars is the western frontier, the various tribes of warlike Tharks are stereotyped Native Americans -- but what is fascinating is that Burroughs does not rest on stereotypical divisiveness. Carter moves from an attitude of superiority and frustration with his Thark captors to respect and admiration from their battle prowess and code of honor exhibited by warriors such as Tars Tarkas. This eventually helps birth an unprecedented alliance between the once sworn Green and Red Martian enemies, perhaps pointing to Burroughs' own belief in the inherent possibility of new beginnings symbolized by wild frontiers. First published in 1912 in serial form, Princess is told wholly from John Carter's point-of-view. The first time I read the novel I was a bit put-off by the sheer amount of information "dumping," exacerbated by the fact that all of the action is related as Carter's reminiscences of his Martian adventures. For a good part of his time on Mars Carter is observing and learning, concealing the fact that he's learning the language and customs of the Tharks. This narrative style made the first third or so of the novel a bit of a slow-go on my first read-through -- but on my second, knowing what to expect, I couldn't put the book down. I relished Burroughs's imaginative world-building and richly-drawn characters. This is an intelligent adventure, articulately-told, with a cracking pace and a finely-honed sense of adventure and heart. While the non-stop action and breath-taking fight sequences make this a page-turning read, by far my favorite aspect of the novel is romance -- perhaps something I relish all the more because, in a novel of this ilk, a romance this passionate seems unexpected. I'm a complete and total sucker for an old-fashioned romance, and Carter's character possesses an inherent nobility and chivalry that I just adored. And while Dejah isn't quite the warrior the film version introduces (at least not yet), her nobility, self-sacrificing spirit, and intelligence mark her as a ground-breaking character -- every inch the lady, strong-willed, and willing to fight for what she believes. I loved the way Burroughs's develops their relationship. He seems to relish in their cross-cultural misunderstandings, but doesn't shy away from ages-old male/female archetypal behavior that lends their budding romance humor and spark. Princess is an old-fashioned adventure novel that becomes an increasing page-turner the more Burroughs lets us see Carter adapt to his new environment, gradually opening himself up to friendships and relationships with people whose appearance and customs are so different from his own at first blush. John Carter's first adventure on Mars is the rare type of novel that improves when revisited, giving me a deeper appreciation for Burroughs's work as a pioneer in the realm of science fiction and fantasy. A Princess of Mars is a ground-breaking, thoroughly entertaining adventure that holds up to this day -- a sterling example of Burroughs's imaginative prowess, a classic from the pen of a pulp fiction master. I adore this book. Bring on the sequels!

Princess of Mars is just a fun book. Edgar Rice Burroughs blew clear through my expectations and gave me a dime-store delight style pulp science fiction read that left me grinning. After H.G. Wells’ In the Days of the Comet, I was expecting something stuffy and a bit of drudgery to work through. However, it was obvious pretty early on that Burroughs’ writings were definitely more compatible with my tastes. Like so many others in early science fiction, it features an All Powerful White Male that finds himself fighting for truth, good, and the heart of a fair maiden at every turn. Actually, truth be told, the one thing I didn’t really like about A Princess of Mars was John Carter. I loved Burrough’s vision of alien life on a dying planet. Everything from the races to the culture made me grin. Especially the guard dog thingum that just needed some loves. But John Carter? Dude comes across as a self-important douche canoe. You know, one of those characters who is a good guy, but likes to let everyone around him know that he is a GOOD GUY. A brave guy. A strong guy. The bestest guy. Etc. Gag me. Action, adventure, and tons of epic battles whilst John Carter establishes his reputation and then get the girl pepper A Princess of Mars. There’s plots, secrets, treachery, and last minute saves on a level that most soap operas would envy. As for other characters, they’re pretty much all stereotypes, but at least they’re fun stereotypes. You have the old jealous crone, the homely but good-hearted ‘sister’, and of course the drop-dead gorgeous (but slightly stupid) love interest, etc. There were several good lines in A Princess of Mars, but the one that made me cackle was: “In one respect at least the Martians are a happy people; they have no lawyers.” A definitely positive step forward for science fiction in general, A Princess of Mars is one of those books that you must read. It’s not a classic that’s going to make you yawn as you shift through hundreds of pages of tedious detail and boring conversation. Instead it’s a page-turner where you get to snark and snicker at a hero with over-inflated sense of self-worth that’s only aided by the fact that he’s on a planet where his heavier-gravity adjusted body gives him an ability that sets him apart. But even while you’re rolling your eyes at him, you’re actively rooting for him. You want this guy to get his girl and save the day. Overall, I really liked A Princess of Mars. In fact, I liked it enough that only a firm grip on my purse kept me from picking up a hardback collection of the whole series at the bookstore a few days after I read it.

Perfecto estado y envio

Tenía tres años buscándolo! Muchas gracias. Si tienen las demás novelas de la saga en físico, también las quiero 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Wer die etwas misslungene Verfilmung John Carter (2012) gesehen hat und nun in der Vorlage nach mehr Sinn sucht, sollte sich erst mal im klaren sein, dass sich in den 100 Jahren, in denen das Buch auf dem Markt ist, einiges in der Scifi-Literatur verändert hat und nicht nur was die "political correctness" betrifft, auf die hier natürlich keinerlei Rücksicht genommen wird. John Carter ist ein echter Pulp-Action Held. Stark, gewitzt, gut aussehend, ehrenhaft und auf dem Mars, auf dem er sich nach wenigen Seiten befindet, auch noch mit außergewöhnlichen Fähigkeiten gesegnet. Durch die geringe Schwerkraft und Luftdruck ist er schnell wie eine Kugel, stark wie eine Lokomotive, kann große Gebäude mit einem Satz überspringen und telepathische Fähigkeiten hat er auch noch. Und dafür muss er noch nicht mal seine Unterwäsche über der Hose tragen. Ein bedauerlicher Nebeneffekt ist, dass man um unseren Helden meist genauso viel Angst haben muss, wie um Superman, der von einer Gruppe Rentnerinnen mit Gehstöcken bedroht wird. Was an der Geschichte von Edgar Rice Burroughs besonders gefällt, ist nicht die geschliffene Wortwahl (wie gesagt es ist ein Pulp-Roman), sondern die große Fantasie mit der eine fremde Kultur beschrieben wird. Der recht kurze Roman enthält dazu auch mehr Handlung als heutzutage übliche 1000 Seiten-Trilogien. Oft wünscht man sich dabei , der Autor hätte sich etwas mehr Ruhe genommen, wenn Szene um Szene an einem vorbeieilt. Besonders das Ende vermittelt das Gefühl, das Burroughs irgendwie das Papier ausgegangen sein muss, soviel quetscht er auf ein paar Seiten. Etliche Nebenfiguren wie Dejah Thoris, Tars Tarkas, Sola und Kantos Kan sind trotz des teilweise hektischen Tempos aber erstaunlich gut ausgearbeitet. Urteil : Etwas gewöhnungsbedüftig, aber immer noch extrem lesenswert.

The film John Carter was a failure in terms of box office return to cost, but I really enjoyed it! I caught the source acknowledgement at the end and got hold of the book. All slipped into place - the Edgar Rice Burroughs of the film (who inherits Carters fortunes) is the author of the book (this one) which is, in the film, the one passed to Edgar which is the meat of the film. It remains pretty much as written by Borroughs over 100 years ago! A really good read! Then go get the film - you will enjoy!

Just started reading...forewords...and i felll in love with the writing of Edgar Rice....after reading so much sc-fi of various writers...i can easily compare his writing and imagination like...Jules verne...